Parties to the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) have voted to extend the three-year agreement reached in the metals and engineering sector in October 2021 to non-parties.
The collective main agreement concluded for the period July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024, will now be forwarded to the Department of Employment and Labour with a request for the Minister of Labour to Gazette the agreement and make it legally binding on all employers and employees falling within its scope.
Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) CEO Lucio Trentini said in a statement that the employer organisations supporting the extension represented 71.57% of all employees employed by employer organisations registered with the MEIBC.
During the MEIBC meeting, the five trade unions that are party to the council – Metal and Electrical Workers' Union of South Africa, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the South African Equity Workers Association, Solidarity and Uasa all supported the extension.
The 18 Seifsa-affiliated employer organisations, along with the Plastics Converters Association of South Africa the Consolidated Employers Organisation, also voted in favour of the extension.